Albertsons promises it won't change United supermarkets

Albertsons purchase of United Supermarkets brings it “an exceptional regional operator” — one it does not want to change, Albertsons LLC spokeswoman Christine Wilcox said.

Albertsons, based in Boise, Idaho, and Lubbock-based United announced their merger Monday, with United becoming its own Albertson’s subsidiary.

The United chain will retain its United Supermarket, Market Street and Amigos banners, its executive management and staff, its Lubbock headquarters, distribution facilities and other entities under the deal.

Terms of the proposed transaction were not disclosed, but the pact faces an antitrust review before it can be closed.

United will make its own decisions, but will gain from the larger company’s collective buying power and access to capital, CEO Robert Taylor has said.

Wilcox echoed his comments Wednesday.

“We understand that there’s questions and concerns from customers,” she said. “But we can assure everybody that United will continue to run as United and the decisions about their stores will be made by them.”

Keeping United under its own control fits with Albertsons decentralized style of managing its 600 Albertsons stores, Wilcox said.

“A lot of companies try to centralize operations in one city,” Wilcox said. “Our office in Los Angeles is making decisions for Southern California. And our office in Phoenix is making decisions for Arizona and New Mexico.”

Decisions such as the right product mix for stores, therefore, can be tailored more for the markets where those stores are located, she said.

Albertsons CEO Bob Miller has praised United’s “entrepreneurial spirit,” including its acquisitions of RC Taylor, which distributes tobacco, candy and general merchandise, and Praters, a manufacturer of prepared foods, such as meats, side dishes and fresh tortillas.

“United runs a fantastic operation and will maintain its own identity,” Miller said in a news release announcing the transaction.

Albertsons LLC began in June 2006, acquiring stores when the original chain was split that year. Supervalu, a grocery retailer and wholesaler, also bought Albertson’s brand stores in the split.

An industry source interviewed in July by Supermarket News credited Miller for bringing Albertsons LLC “back to basics, putting the decision-making close to customers” when he became CEO in 2006.

Albertsons leaders believed many stores obtained in 2006 “would thrive under a different operating model, but we had to evaluate the store base first to figure out which stores and areas had the best chance of being revitalized,” an Albertson’s narrative provided by Wilcox said.

The company closed 125 stores in June 2006, the history said. The closures included Amarillo stores at 4215 S.W. 45th Ave. and 716 W. Interstate 40 in Amarillo.

Albertsons LLC has continued to operate the Amarillo store at 2200 S. Bell St., Wilcox said.

Wilcox said she could not elaborate on specific plans for markets in which Albertsons and United compete due to a pending Federal Trade Commission review.

“Due to the complexity of the transaction and because we are awaiting the FTC review, there are questions we can’t answer,” she said. “It’s still early in the transaction. We have a lot to figure out.”

Albertsons LLC has been successful with the stores it chose to keep, said Bill Bishop, a retail industry consultant now working to build bricksmeetclicks.com.

“Albertsons has surprised everybody by taking the kind of residual stores that didn’t go to Supervalu and making them successful,” Bishop said. “The people who did that now have a reputation for being able to turn companies around and being successful when others can’t. These folks really know how to run supermarkets.”

Cerberus regrouped to place the stores under an umbrella called AB Acquisition, an entity that has 1,100 stores in all.

An estimated 600 Albertsons banner stores are managed under the umbrella of Albertsons LLC, the entity that is acquiring United.

Other store brands — including Acme Markets, Star Market, Jewel-Osco — acquired in from Supervalu are managed by New Albertsons Inc.

Albertsons LLC has 76 stores in Texas, mostly in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. With the United acquisition, Albertsons LLC will operate about 650 stores and 11 distribution centers in 16 states.

“Nationally, even though Albertsons LLC and NAI are separate companies, we leverage the total 1,000 store base to benefit all of our stores,” Wilcox said previously. “From an operations perspective, our divisions are strategically decentralized. We typically make local purchases for fresh items and grocery at the division level.”

Albertsons LLC and NAI collectively have nine operating divisions, including Albertsons pharmacies, 12 distribution centers and more than 110,000 employees. The United Family will add a 10th division.

Albertsons LLC and NAI are under Miller’s leadership. His resume includes 30 years at the original Albertson’s, where he was executive vice president of retail operations when he left in 1991, Supermarket News reported.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs is pledging to overhaul its reporting policies for bad medical workers and a group of lawmakers is introducing legislation following a USA TODAY investigation that found the VA has routinely concealed shoddy care and staff mistakes.